Young at heart

Professor Pam Nilan contributes a unique sociologist's viewpoint to
the body of research on youth cultures in the Asia-Pacific
region.

It was a trip around Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
in her twenties that ignited Pam Nilan's love affair with Asian culture and
society. Fast forward to 2013 and Professor Nilan is fluent in Indonesian and
still finds Asia "utterly compelling".

As
a youth sociologist with a passion for Indonesia, Professor Pam Nilan has
devoted much of her academic career to studying young people both in Australia
and abroad and still finds them "infinitely interesting".

"Someone
once suggested to me that at my age I should start studying older people - but
it is youth and youth culture that excites me," Professor Nilan says.

"I
have always been intrigued by the transition from childhood to adulthood - that
age where people are still childlike in their openness to new ideas but at the
same time socially active and engaging with the world. It is a really
interesting cusp that enables them to look backwards and forwards at the same
time. I never tire of studying it."

Professor Nilan is currently a Chief Investigator on an ARC
Discovery Grant: Fostering Pro-Environment Consciousness and Practice:
Environmentalism, Environmentality and Environmental Education in Indonesia.

The project aims
to foster environmental awareness in Indonesia by investigating how some people
have become environmentally aware, and by evaluating various environmental
education and activism projects.

"I've noticed over the past three years more young
people are espousing environmental causes in Asia such as rehabilitation of
rainforests, preservation of native species, limiting of palm oil plantations
and reducing air pollution," Professor Nilan says.

"Young people in Indonesia are quite connected to
environmental causes but don't tend to get involved in mass rallies or
protests. They use more creative ideas to get their message across, such as
making music about environmental causes and forming large teams to conduct
'friendly' clean up campaigns with local councils."

"We're seeing the dawn of a new environmental
consciousness in Indonesia with the birth of ideas around cleaning up the local
area, taking public transport and riding bikes – it's the reinvention of a new
aspect of youth culture," Professor Nilan says.

Youth,
gender, formation of identity and popular culture are strong themes in the
substantial research portfolio Professor Nilan has amassed, which includes
co-authorship of three books on Australian and global youth culture. She also
recently co-authored a book on adolesence in Indonesia.

Her love of Southeast Asia and the cultures of
the Asia-Pacific region is also reflected in her research work, which has taken
her to Indonesia, Vietnam and Fiji to undertake significant sociological
studies.

She
has also completed a major two-year project funded by AusAID called
Masculinities and Violence in Indonesia and India, which followed on from her
previous Indonesia-based studies on adolescent culture and masculinities of
young men. Pam was a Chief Investigator on the Indonesian component of the
study and project leader of the international team of researchers.

"Indonesia
and India have histories of civil violence but most of the past research has
been around aspects like religiously motivated violence, mass insurgencies or
domestic violence - the role of masculinity and its constructions had not been
considered," Pam explains.

"We
looked at the question of why some men stand back and watch violence and others
get involved. To understand that you need to see violence as a form of cultural
repertoire, something that can, in certain situations, win respect and bring
rewards."

While
unemployment and poverty were acknowledged as contributing factors to violence,
the research led to some interesting observations on links between low
socio-economic status and violence.

"What
I have found, both from our data and wider studies, is that there isn't a
direct correlation," Pam says. "In areas where everybody is poor, you
don't have a high incidence of violence. Where you do see more frequent
violence is where there are discrepancies in the socio-economic status of
people in the same community - so it is more about inequality of status than
poverty per se."

In
2012 she undertook an Australian-embassy sponsored lecture tour through
Indonesia with colleague Dr Argyo Demartoto, of Central Java's University
Sebelas Maret, to present their findings on masculinity and violence in
Indonesia to a wide audience of academics, students, government officials and
representatives of aid and development organisations.

Having
studied and written on Indonesia since 1995, Professor Nilan's insight into the
country is frequently sought by the media and policy makers and she has worked
as a consultant to the Australian government and AusAID. Her work brings a
unique specialty to FEDUA's research profile - and has fostered academic
exchange between students and researchers from Newcastle and Indonesia."Indonesia is a vast, diverse and really
fascinating country but it is a country the average Australian still doesn't
know a lot about," says Pam, "I think it is important for Australia's
role in the region to have people like me who continue to research there and
feed knowledge back to the academic community."

Career Summary

Biography

Pam Nilan is Professor of Sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle, and Adjunct Fellow in Asian Studies at the University of Western Australia (2013-2016). She is currently the Treasurer of the Asia-Pacific Sociological Association. Professor Nilan is an experienced youth researcher, who has worked in Australia, Vietnam, Fiji and Indonesia. In the youth research field she focuses on school-to-work transitions, gender, class and popular culture. Her current research endeavours are focused in Indonesia. She has published numerous articles in refereed journals and contributed many book chapters to edited collections. She has been a co-author on four books. Professor Nilan is currently a Chief Investigator on an ARC-funded Discovery Grant: Fostering Pro-Environment Consciousness and Practice: Environmentalism, Environmentality and Environmental Education in Indonesia. She has been a Chief Investigator on four previous externally-funded project grants. Professor Nilan has supervised ten Ph.D and M.Phil theses to completion. In 2012 she received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Supervision Excellence in the Faculty of Education and Arts. She was instrumental in developing the Graduate Certificate and Master of Social Change and Development. This program sequence currently has over 75 fee-paying postgraduate coursework students enrolled, including both on-campus international students and online distance education students. In 2010 Professor Nilan spent her sabbatical leave in Europe, where she spent four months teaching undergraduate Indonesian society and culture subjects to students at l'Universite de La Rochelle in France. She was also a research fellow at KITLV in Leiden during this period. Since 2005, Professor Nilan has worked in January each year as a member of the Jakarta Selection Team to interview AusAID-funded Australian Development Scholarship applicants for Indonesia.

Research ExpertiseDr Nilan has research expertise in the following fields: youth; gender and development; identity and popular culture; and school-to-work transition. She has expertise in mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) research in Australia and in selected countries of the Asia-Pacific region. She has further expertise in working with large external, non-profit-making, organisations.

Teaching ExpertiseDr Nilan has teaching expertise in the subjects of Introductory Sociology, Social Theory, Research Methodology, Youth Studies, Gender and Development, Indonesian Society and Culture.

Administrative ExpertiseDr Nilan has had extensive administration and governance expertise in universities. In administration, she was Convenor of the Graduate Certificate and Master of Social Change and Development postgraduate coursework programs for six years. In governance, she has been Deputy Dean (2 years), elected Faculty member of Academic Senate (3 years), Deputy Head of School for Research Training (3 years). She is currently Assistant Dean for Research and Research Training in the Faculty of Education and Arts (2 year appointment).

CollaborationsDr Nilan has conducted research collaboration with fellow investigators in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, France and The Netherlands. She has collaborated on research projects and initiatives with researchers from the following academic and research institutions: Australian National University University of Western Australia La Trobe University Wollongong University Fiji University of Technology (Fiji) Universitas Hasannudin (Indonesia) Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha (Indonesia) Universitas Sebelas Maret (Indonesia) Universitas Indonesia L'Universite de La Rochelle (France) KITLV (Leiden, The Netherlands) Dr Nilan has also conducted applied research and scholarship in conjunction with the following: Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Australia) Australian Agency for International Development (Australia) United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Qualifications

PhD, University of Newcastle

Master of Education, University of New England

Bachelor of Education, University of New England

Keywords

Development Studies

Gender and Development

Identity and Popular Culture

Introductory Sociology

School-to-Work Transition

Social Change in the Asia-Pacific Region

Youth

Languages

French (Fluent)

Indonesian (Fluent)

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

160899

Sociology not elsewhere classified

80

170199

Psychology not elsewhere classified

5

200205

Culture, Gender, Sexuality

15

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Professor

University of NewcastleSchool of Humanities and Social ScienceAustralia

Academic appointment

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

1/01/2004 -

Membership - Asian Studies Association of Australia

Asian Studies Association of AustraliaAustralia

1/01/2002 -

Membership - International Sociology Association

International Sociology AssociationAustralia

1/01/1996 -

Membership - Asia-Pacific Sociological Association

Asia-Pacific Sociological Association Australia

1/01/1992 -

Membership - The Australian Sociology Association

The Australian Sociology AssociationAustralia

1/01/1990 - 1/12/1991

Lecturer

University of New EnglandSchool of Social and Cultural Studies

Awards

Research Award

Year

Award

1990

Award for Outstanding Educational ResearchNew South Wales Institute of Educational Research

Research Masters Examiner

Suzie Handajani, Globalizing Local Girls: The Representation of Adolescents in Indonesian Female Teen MagazinesOrganisation: University of Western Australia
Description:
Invited examiner

Speaker

Year

Title / Rationale

2011

âThe Future of Youth Sociology: Global DoubtsâOrganisation: The Australian Sociological Association conference, Macquarie University
Description:
Personal invitation to present to Workshop Panel on the Future of Youth Sociology

2010

âChallenging Stereotypes: Young Gays and Lesbians in Indonesiaâ Organisation: Vrije University Amsterdam
Description:
Personal invitation to present at the Southeast Asia Update Seminar

Nilan PM, ''Reality TV'? School Students and Popular Culture', Sociology of Education - Possibilities and Practices, Social Science Press, Melbourne 306-321 (2004) [B1]

2000

Nilan PM, 'I Was Never a Dress Person: Lesbian Stories from the Newcastle/Hunter Region', Out in the Valley: Hunter Gay and lesbian Histories, Newcastle Region Public Library, Newcastle 336 (2000) [B1]

Journal article (56 outputs)

This article looks at how five environmental leaders in Jogjakarta became environmentally active, and at the groups and interventions they formed. Interview data are drawn from a ... [more]

This article looks at how five environmental leaders in Jogjakarta became environmentally active, and at the groups and interventions they formed. Interview data are drawn from a broader project that aimed to find out what might turn an Indonesian person into someone who cares for the environment. It examines the journey in leadership as "becoming" in the terms of Deleuze and Guattari (1987); a journey constituted in the desire to make something different. Against a backdrop of day-today practices in Central Java that do not favour environmental conservation and sustainability, the five informants seized upon an idea, a praxis, and explored it in the company of like-minded others, to join or make an organisation or action dedicated to redressing environmental crisis or neglect.

This article investigates the Â¿becomingÂ¿ of queer female punx in the contemporary hardcore scene in a regional Australian city. Twelve young women aged 20Â¿30 years were intervi... [more]

This article investigates the Â¿becomingÂ¿ of queer female punx in the contemporary hardcore scene in a regional Australian city. Twelve young women aged 20Â¿30 years were interviewed about their experiences of queer identity. They emphasized their involvement in the music scene as a key catalyst for the development of a queer punk identity even though the local hardcore scene is male-dominated and homosocial. We find that these young female queer punx assert their identity through collectively summoning and synthesizing the counternormative resources of both queer and punk Do It Yourself (DIY) to configure the space of hardcore differently. Our findings confirm the durability of a playful, subversive punk ethos in constituting challenges to the normative.

This article compares two youth-oriented ENGOs (Environmental Non-Government Organisations) in Indonesia. Comparative analysis focuses on how the two organisations provide discour... [more]

This article compares two youth-oriented ENGOs (Environmental Non-Government Organisations) in Indonesia. Comparative analysis focuses on how the two organisations provide discourses that configure differently the pedagogic space of experiential learning for children and young people. Despite an apparent low level of environmental awareness generally among the Indonesian population there does seem to be some enthusiasm for environmental activities among certain groups of young people. However, it seems different kinds of young people are drawn to different kinds of environmental activities. Conceptually, if we accept that there is an imagined space of the nation (Anderson, 1991) we can logically propose an imagined national space of the physical environment. Thus different agents of change will imagine and configure this space differently so that certain kinds of engagement and learning follow. Escobar (1999) points out that what we perceive in the environment as Â¿naturalÂ¿ is always also cultural and social. So for example, transnational logging companies understand the Indonesian forests as a natural resource to be exploited, while student nature-lover groups Â¿ Mahasiswa Pencinta Alam Â¿ constitute forests as recreational places to camp and walk in nature. This paper examines two ENGOs designed to appeal to young Indonesians: Sahabat Alam Â¿ Friends of Nature - founded in 2008 by a 12 year old schoolgirl after Jakarta flooding, and Tanam Untuk Kehidupan Â¿ Planting for Life Â¿ an arts collective which aims for learning about the environment through creative practices and festivals in Salatiga.

This article investigates the Â¿becomingÂ¿ of queer female punx in the contemporary hardcore scene in a regional Australian city. Twelve young women aged 20Â¿30 years were intervi... [more]

This article investigates the Â¿becomingÂ¿ of queer female punx in the contemporary hardcore scene in a regional Australian city. Twelve young women aged 20Â¿30 years were interviewed about their experiences of queer identity. They emphasized their involvement in the music scene as a key catalyst for the development of a queer punk identity even though the local hardcore scene is male-dominated and homosocial. We find that these young female queer punx assert their identity through collectively summoning and synthesizing the counternormative resources of both queer and punk Do It Yourself (DIY) to configure the space of hardcore differently. Our findings confirm the durability of a playful, subversive punk ethos in constituting challenges to the normative.

Nilan PM, 'Intergenerational family relations and career choice of young people in Indonesia', The Second ISA Forum of Sociology: Social Justice & Democratization Book of Abstracts, Buenos Aires (2011) [E3]

Nilan P, 'Impacts of Aid Scholarship-Funded Study in Australian Universities: The Case of Indonesia', Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society Conference, Armidale (2005) [E4]

Nilan PM, Threadgold S, 'Using Bourdieu to Look at Young People and Politics', TASA 2003 Conference, University of New England (2003) [E4]

2001

Nilan PM, Darab SK, ''Half the time I go to work feeling like I've already worked a full day':Time and Women's Unpaid Work', Proceedings of The Australian Sociological Association (TASA), The University of Sydney (2001) [E1]

Research Supervision

Current Supervision

Developing a 'Best Practice' in the Development and Delivery of Postmodern and Critical Sexuality Education in AustraliaStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2014

An Exploration of Creative Self-Making Practices and Identity Construction Among Young, Queer Women in Australian and UK Punk SpacesStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2014

When the Urban Forest is Ours: Urban Environmentalism and Youth in Bandung, IndonesiaStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

Creative Musicians in Three Indonesian Cities: Making Transition to Adulthood through Entrepreneurial Activities and MobilityStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2013

On the Streets: Youth Street Art in Yogyakarta as a Contemporary AssemblageStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2007

The Mental Health Experiences of Early Retired Males in the Hunter RegionStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsCo-Supervisor

Past Supervision

Year

Research Title / Program / Supervisor Type

2013

Experiences of the 1996-2006 Civil Conflict in Nepal: Narratives of Engagement of Tamangs (Indigenous People) and Buhan-Chhetris (Non-Indigenous People)Studies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

Cultural Rules and Patterning in Food Systems and Nutrition of the Orang Asli Temiar: The Indigenous People of Peninsular MalaysiaStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsCo-Supervisor

2010

Competing Discourses of Female Empowerment for School-Age Girls: Michel Foucault's Analytics of Power as a Theoretical FrameworkStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2009

Back to the Future, for Better or Worse? Meanings of Marriage for Young Women in the Lower Hunter Region, AustraliaStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2009

Youth and Habitus at Three Australian Schools: Perceptions of Ambitions, Risks and the Future in Reflexive ModernityStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsPrincipal Supervisor

2007

Single MothersSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2007

The Complexity of Labour Market Inequalities: Gendered Subjectivity, Material Circumstances and Young Women's AspirationsStudies In Human Society, Faculty of Education and ArtsSole Supervisor

2006

The Meanings of Leisure for Women who have Survived Domestic ViolenceTourism, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2006

Experiences of ESL Teachers in ThailandSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2005

The Gap between Indonesian Media Training and the Profession: Factors Affecting Young Women in Communication Studies and Media CareersCommunication & Media Studies, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyPrincipal Supervisor

2005

Bisexuality and Sex Education in New South Wales SchoolsSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2004

All the comforts of home? A critical ethnography of residential aged care in New ZealandNursing, Faculty of Health and MedicineCo-Supervisor

2003

Women Workers and the Informal EconomySociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2002

Young People, Risk and Political AwarenessSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2002

Youth Subcultures in Two Goth NighclubsSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

2001

Young People and CitizenshipSociology, University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

1999

Why do Women Choose to Remain Childless?Sociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

1999

Young Women and Surfing in NewcastleSociology, University of NewcastleCo-Supervisor

1998

Young Women and the Negotiation of Sexual RiskSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

1998

The Enabling Characteristics of Hospital-Based Specialist Nursing EducationSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor

1997

Women Managing their HouseholdsSociology, University of NewcastleSole Supervisor